Possible poisoning sends pupil to hospital

MILFORD – An unidentified pupil who may have ingested poison was transported from the Lewis S. Libby School to Eastern Maine Medical Center Tuesday morning.

An Old Town ambulance crew responded to a call reporting that a pupil drank an unknown amount of antifreeze before coming to school, according to Assistant Chief James Lavoie of the Old Town Fire Department. School officials declined to comment on the incident.

Antifreeze can cause kidney damage, according to Karen Simone, a toxicologist and managing director of the Maine Poison Control Center.

A person who had ingested antifreeze might appear drunk and stagger, but not smell of alcohol, said Simone. She added that a person would not appear sick immediately after ingesting antifreeze.

Simone cited national statistics for 1999 that reported 5,427 exposures to antifreeze, 391 of them intentional. Nine people died, she said, while 101 were hospitalized for treatment.

For more information on the effects of poison, call (800) 432-7381. For TTY assistance, call 866-5805.